bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the company would continue to be publicly traded, weeks after suggesting that he would take the pioneering electric carmaker private.
Musk met Tesla’s board of directors on Thursday “and let them know that I believe the better path is for Tesla to remain public. The Board indicated that they agree,” he wrote on the company blog.
Musk surprised markets on August 7 by announcing on Twitter he wanted to take Tesla private at US$420 a share. But the shares have fallen more than 20 per cent since.
After the announcement the controversial entrepreneur came under extensive scrutiny over his Twitter statements related to the proposal, especially a claim that Tesla had “secured” funding for the move.
Tesla shares tumbled on reports that the US Securities and Exchange Commission has subpoenaed Musk to talk about the tweet.
Normally such a major announcement – taking a huge company private – would be explained in detail beforehand to regulators.

Musk said Friday that based on his talks with shareholders, as well as an assessment by financial advisers Silver Lake, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, “it’s apparent that most of Tesla’s existing shareholders believe we are better off as a public company.”
Even though most shareholders “said they would remain with Tesla if we went private, the sentiment, in a nutshell, was ‘please don’t do this,’” he wrote.
Elon Musk defends relentless work hours as Tesla enters fateful week
“I knew the process of going private would be challenging, but it’s clear that it would be even more time-consuming and distracting than initially anticipated.”
Musk wrote that the company “must stay focused on ramping (up the) Model 3 and becoming profitable. We will not achieve our mission of advancing sustainable energy unless we are also financially sustainable.”


The Model 3 is a US$35,000 mid-sized electric sedan that the company – which still has not made a profit – is banking will be its runaway hit.
Musk acknowledged that he was exhausted from overwork following the market-rattling August 7 tweet.
“This past year has been the most difficult and painful year of my career,” Musk told The New York Times in an August 16 interview.
The newspaper said the swashbuckling CEO choked up at times as he talked about working endless hours trying to meet production deadlines, spending his 47th birthday in June – every hour of it – at work and almost missing his brother’s wedding.
Behold, the Russian ‘electric supercar’ that’s supposed to challenge Tesla
The physical toll his job is taking meant life has “not been great, actually. I’ve had friends come by who are really concerned,” he told the newspaper.
Musk described the infamous privatisation tweet – which included an assurance that funding for going private was secured – as an attempt to be transparent.
The news shocked investors, market analysts and even Tesla board members.
Musk explained on the company blog that his much scrutinised statements about financing were based on his conversations with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund and other investors.


China’s carmakers cut supplier payment cycles amid Beijing’s price war crackdown

Why Tesla fell behind BYD, and why catching up won’t be easy

Tesla launches China AI training centre as self-driving race accelerates

Space-computing push of Elon Musk’s SpaceX shines beam on China’s solar supply chain

Tesla

Elon Musk drops plan to take Tesla private after bombshell tweet

Elon Musk, chairman and chief executive officer of Tesla. Photo: Bloomberg

Customers check out the Tesla X, at the Tesla showroom in Santa Monica, Calif., on Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2018. Board members at Tesla are evaluating CEO and Chairman Elon Musk's $72 billion proposal to take the electric car and solar panel maker private. Six of nine members said in a prepared statement Wednesday that Musk began talking with the board about the move last week. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

News

World

United States & Canada

Business

Companies

The announcement was remarkable reversal that more than two weeks after blindsiding employees and investors with the idea in a tweet


The eccentric and sometimes erratic CEO said that he made the decision based on feedback from shareholders.


Tech CEOs

Elon Musk drops plan to take Tesla private after bombshell tweet

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The announcement was remarkable reversal that more than two weeks after blindsiding employees and investors with the idea in a tweet

The announcement was remarkable reversal that more than two weeks after blindsiding employees and investors with the idea in a tweet